Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of computer processors. More particularly, the invention relates to systems and methods for reducing latency for short-duration tasks.
Description of the Related Art
Various applications, such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) applications depend on low-latency responses to head motion. Any disparity between head motion and sensory input (e.g., a head mounted display or other visual system) has been shown to trigger a biological response that induces nausea in the viewer. Difficulties in effectively addressing such latency issues limits broad adoption of VR/AR/MR technology. Accordingly, there is rapidly emerging demand for extremely low latency processing of relatively short duration tasks.
Past attempts to address the latency problem have included adding a micro-controller to GPU systems to improve processing of some commands. However, this is overly complicated and adds costs to the system. Alternative application design patterns that enable hardware to execute 3D rendering commands concurrently with non-3D commands have also been pursued. However, these attempts do not provide guarantees of performance nor does it expose cross-process capabilities required for VR/AR/MR applications.